The recent merger of two groups that have been working on downtown revitalization continues what we see as a positive trend of city leaders taking a fresh look at ongoing efforts downtown and looking to streamline and consolidate where possible.

Project Main Street, which has been working for the past three years to introduce new events, will merge with the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership.

The merger will give Project Main Street the resources it needs to expand on what they have already been doing. They have been operating with support from the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, but that agreement ended at the start of the year.

“For a small committee, they really brought a lot of attention to downtown and had great events. But that was all done with volunteer work and on a shoestring budget,” said DLCP Executive Director Arianna Parsons. “It’s time for that to evolve and take those events to the next level.”

The merger means that Russ Smith and Janet Beatty-Payne, who have led the effort in developing, marketing and staging several new downtown events, will now be working under contract and paid by the partnership based on the scope and budget of the event. They will have increased access to things like event insurance, city facilities and donor lists, Parsons said.

It will also allow them to devote more resources to what have become three of the larger annual events downtown, the Chile Drop when the clock strike midnight to usher in each New Year’s Day, the Salsa Fest in August and the Zombie Walk in October.

“Those events have to be well put-together,” Beatty-Payne said. “For as large as the events are getting, we thought we need to partner with a group that is well established. Downtown Las Cruces Partnership really brings that to the table — building up downtown and bringing people downtown.”

Along with the three signature events each year, they will also be sponsoring smaller affairs to keep people coming downtown.

“There are a lot of other cool things that can happen downtown, but they take a lot of coordination and money,” Beatty-Payne said.

The city has invested in new facilities downtown, like Plaza de Las Cruces. It will now be important to keep bringing new events to the plaza to ensure that we get the most out of that facility.

This merger comes just as the city is starting a new economic development department that will be working with the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership to promote growth and development.

The downtown revitalization effort has been a slow and difficult process. The rejuvenation of the Rio Grande Theatre, returning Main Street to two-way traffic and construction of the plaza have all been steps toward the goal of making downtown a central gathering place for the city once again.

But more must be done to increase the dining and entertainment options needed for a thriving downtown area.

We wish Smith and Beatty-Payne success as they expand upon their ongoing efforts to create and promote fun and interesting events that make people want to spend more time downtown.